One day when Jeremy Spoon was 11 years old, he was taking a nap at his grandmother and grandfather’s house after school. There was a mix-up in who would pick him up from school, so he spent the time with his grandparents, with whom he was close.

Spoon’s father had worked hard for the family, along with his mother. Growing up in Chickasha, Okla., he had the support of his twin brother, Jerod, a sister and his parents in a happy home. After his father’s death, Spoon leaned more on his twin as well as his mother and grandparents, which later gave him reason to be motivated in what would become a mixed-martial-arts career.

“I’m trying to do all this,” he said, “so I can pay them back for what they did for me.”

Given his career so far, Spoon is well on his way. With help from his brother, who has been close with Spoon through high school, college and now MMA, the 26-year-old takes a 12-0 record (2-0 BFC) into Friday’s Bellator 60 featherweight-tournament opening-round matchup against Daniel Straus (17-4 MMA, 3-1 BFC) in Hammond, Ind.

With a string of three straight decision victories, Spoon has proven he can handle hard work, and now he’s looking for more recognition as part of the tournament bouts that open Bellator’s sixth season, which airs on MTV2. Still living in his hometown of Chickasha, Spoon said he is fighting as much for family pride as his own success while trying to continue the hot start to his career.

“This is my biggest test, and hopefully I can perform,” he said. “(Straus) is good, and I know I have to watch out for him, but I’m trying to do what I’ve done in the past.”

A close bond

Like any brothers, the Spoon twins had their share of fights growing up in Chickasha. There was also a sister in the family, but the brothers were close from their birth, a bond that has lasted through their professional MMA careers.

“We always tried to beat each other,” Spoon said. “I think it helped us because one day one of us would win, then the next day the other would win. We’ve always pushed each other.”

That bond tightened when, as fourth-graders, the Spoon brothers lost their father to an early death. They had always played sports, but they were a little too small for football success. By seventh grade, coaches encouraged them to try wrestling, and they discovered their sporting passion.

As his mother and grandparents worked to provide whatever the family needed, Spoon found quick wrestling success. He finished fourth in the state tournament as a freshman and eventually became a state champion.

The exploits are remembered well enough in his hometown that a reporter with “The (Chickasha) Express-Star” began a story on Spoon’s success in MMA this past summer with, “Jeremy Spoon is best known in the Chickasha area as a state champion wrestler. That soon may change, or at least in another form of combat could be added to his image.”

Spoon’s brother was also a state champion in a different year, Spoon said, which added to their back-and-forth accomplishments. They went on to the same college, but they eventually left the wrestling team and returned home.

Needing a focus with the family still working to make ends meet, Spoon took a few different jobs and hoped for a better opportunity.

“I was thinking one day, ‘I’m tired of being a bum, and I need to turn myself around,'” Spoon said.

Well-rounded fighter

Tuttle, Okla., is about 25 minutes from Chickasha, and it’s where Spoon found his focus.

About four years ago, a friend told the Spoon brothers about a gym in the city that could help them train for MMA. It was an opportunity to be passionate about something, Spoon said, and within six months he had his first amateur fight.

After that brief, one-fight amateur career, he turned professional while hoping to help repay his family for the help it gave him.

“I just thought I was ready, and I was feeling good about what was happening,” he said. “It just kind of started fast.”

Each of Spoon’s first five wins came by first-round knockout or submission. After a 10-0 start, he was tapped to take on Donald Sanchez for the King of the Cage 155-pound belt. He knew Sanchez had more experience, but Spoon beat Sanchez in a split decision before topping Adam Schindler at October’s Bellator 56 event, which set himself up for the featherweight tournament.

Throughout his career, Spoon said, he has been driven by his brother’s presence in the gym and also his desire to expand his fighting resume.

“You can’t just be one-dimensional,” he said. “I started as a wrestler, but you can’t just be a wrestler and be successful. You have to look for what’s coming and try new things.”

So far, those efforts have led to an undefeated record. Spoon hopes to continue that success and help support the family that took greater care of him after the early loss of his father.

Meanwhile, Spoon will keep up his emotional support for his brother, who has done the same for him.

“He fights the week after I do,” he said. “This is a big time for both of us.”

Award-winning newspaper reporter Kyle Nagel is the lead features
writer for MMAjunkie.com. His weekly “Fight Path” column focuses on the
circumstances that led fighters to a profession in MMA. Know a fighter
with an interesting story? Email us at news [at] mmajunkie.com.

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